Channel 10 says its reporter is anxious to complete his sentence and return to work.

01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, December 22, 2004

BY W. ZACHARY MALINOWSKI
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Channel 10 reporter Jim Taricani, who was sentenced to six months of home confinement for defying a federal court order, will not appeal his conviction and punishment.

The decision was announced yesterday, in a statement issued by Channel 10 (WJAR).

"Jim's decision was based upon his concern for his health, his heart condition and his desire to put this matter behind him," the statement reads. "The last several years have taken a tremendous physical and emotional toll on Jim and his family, and he is looking forward to getting on with his life and getting back to work."

On Dec. 10, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres sentenced Taricani for refusing to reveal who illegally gave him a secret FBI videotape that showed an official in the administration of former Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr. taking a $1,000 bribe.

The source, Joseph A. Bevilacqua Jr., a Providence lawyer, has since come forward and faces sanctions and possible criminal prosecution. Taricani, who lives in North Kingstown, is on a very restrictive form of home confinement which prohibits him from leaving his house or having access to the Internet.

At sentencing, Torres said that he would have sent Taricani to prison had the reporter been in better health. Taricani had a heart transplant in 1996, and he suffers from an array of other health problems.

Upon completion of his home confinement sentence, Taricani will return to work at Channel 10. In its statement, the television statement said it remains steadfast in supporting Taricani's decision not to reveal the source.

"As a news organization, we believe that protection is necessary to ensure that sources will continue to come forward and share important news and information -- often involving corruption and wrongdoing -- that the public has the right to know," according to the statement.